Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, “Little Women,” is coming to the Impromptu Players stage in DeRidder next month. There will be six performances, including two dinner theater shows.

What makes this production special is it’s a musical. This time, the longings and the desires of the March family are told not only through the spoken word, but also song, said Kari Ifland, the director.

“It’s really a lovely show. I love the fact that it’s very family oriented, and the relationship between the sisters is so strong. That’s what really drives the play forward, and the plot,” she said.

Most of the play centers on the women. Men do appear on occasion, such as young men courting the March sisters — and that dastardly villain, Baxter Pendergast, who appears on stage from time to time as Jo tells her stories to her sisters.

Ifland said the show appeals to people on many levels.

“People know the story, love the story. I think the story’s still relevant today. That’s why it’s stood the test of time. This show, though, puts it to music. And it’s wonderfully written. It stays very true to the original story line, but I think it’s told in a new way,” she said.

Dania Hunter, 17, from Leesville High School, plays the main character, Jo. She said being in the show is “empowering.”

Jo is a character that is fiercely independent, and goes out in the world, and makes sure that people know that she’s powerful, and she’s going to be able to do this by herself. And so it’s just a real privilege to be able to bring that to life on stage,” she said.

For her, the most fun parts of the show are the sword fights and being able to wear funny hats. The biggest challenge is to work through the range of emotions Jo experiences as she faces the transition to womanhood — when she herself is only partway through that same transition.

The show is mainly about family. It has some important lessons, Hunter said.

“No matter what life throws at you, it always gets better. There’s always a way to overcome some of some of the biggest hardships that you go through as a person. And there’s always ways to prevail,” she said.

Leah Thompson, 14, from Rosepine High School, plays Beth, one of Jo’s sisters. She describes her character.

“She seems very shy, and any fights that go on, she’s the peacekeeper. She doesn’t want any of her sisters to fight,” she said. “And I would say, she’s very angelic.”

Skye Hunter, 15, from Leesville, plays Amy, the youngest sister. Her character is jealous of her older siblings, which she can relate to because she is the youngest sister herself — and, in fact, is the real-life sister of onstage sibling Jo.

“She’s a very interesting and emotional character. She’s very fun to play,” Hunter said.

Angie Thorne, who plays Marmee, brings a lot of experience playing mothers to “Little Women.” Last year, for Impromptu Players, she was the mother in both “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Thorne described what director Kari Ifland said to her as auditions began for “Little Women.”

“I promise, I’m not trying to type-cast you,” she recalled Ifland as saying.

Thorne added that the fantasy scenes provide balance. These are the most fun parts of the show in a serious story that often deals with the many hardships the family faces.

“Some of the scenes in the play describes the stories that she’s telling, and writing. And of course, they’re full of adventure and swashbuckling. And there’s a hag, and a troll. So it’s very fun and imaginative, and we try to play that out a little bit on stage,” she said.

In one of the serious moments, Thorne gets to sing “Here Alone,” about what it’s like having to raise her children by herself. These moments make the show different from the usual dinner theater productions at Impromptu Players.

“This is a little more serious than a lot of the musicals that we normally do, that are very light-hearted and wonderful. But this is wonderful in its own way,” Thorne said. “I think that people really need to come out and experience it.”

“Little Women” will be at the Wooten Theater at 7 p.m. March 3 and 4, a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. March 5, and the following week at 7 p.m. March 9, 10 and 11. Dinner shows are March 3 and March 11; the menu has not been decided yet.

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